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About Community IPM

The Community IPM Project has both experts and resources to help schools, local agencies, and house projects with pest management programs. We are a clearinghouse for information. We can provide school training videos, brochures, posters, and we can guide you to other useful IPM information.

We provide technical pest management support for:

School IPM coordinators

Building maintenance professionals

Pest management professionals

Policy and program guideline reviews

School personnel wanting in-service training

Educational presentations for administrators, parents and teachers

Housing authorities

Health departments and sanitarians

Childcare facilities

Zoos and parks

Pesticide applicator continuing education

Emergency and homeless shelters

Children’s Health

The Community IPM Projects has special expertise in using IPM to promote children’s health. The value of IPM in schools was recognized early. Since 1995 Texas has had laws and requirements governing pesticide use in and around public schools. Texas AgriLife Extension’s Community IPM Project works with public school employees, teaching them how to conduct IPM in schools and about pesticide and other school IPM regulations. The Community IPM Project promotes children’s health by educating school employees, pest management professionals, and others on the use of IPM in the community.

Children deserve a safe place to learn and grow. Pest control is an important but often overlooked part of school safety. In addition to everyday hazards such as cockroaches, weeds, and mice, improperly used products to control pests are potentially hazardous.

Benefits of integrated pest management include:

Improved indoor air quality

Reduced need for pesticides

Better pest control for schools, communities, and multifamily housing

By following IPM practices, communities engaged in area-wide pest control programs comply with clean water standards; improve the environment, health and quality of life; and control destructive and disease causing pest insects that can harbor in and around buildings.

Mosquito covered shirt in Port LaVaca, TX. Photo by Richard Murray on Facebook.Remember last week when I warned that mosquitoes would be hurricane Harvey's final gift? Well, mosquitoes are here as seen in this Facebook image, taken in Port Lavaca, TX this weekend.The giant mosquitoes in this picture are probably in the genus Psorophora, (sore […]

Fire ant floating colony in Houston floodwaters.Photo by NBC DFW @OmarVillafrancaMany in the pest control industry find themselves in the midst of the devastating floods hitting much of south and east Texas this week. If so, it may be a good time to remind ourselves of some unique pest challenges associated with high water. Flooding […]

Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Department of State Health Services recently reported an increase in the number of reported cases of typhus in Texas. Texas historically has had more cases of typhus than other states, but this new study published in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Disease journal shows that numbers of cases […]

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